Author's notes: First of all I would like to thank everyone for reading and reviewing my story :) I really appreciate it to an extent that I can't express in words. I do my best to keep it entertaining. Promise!


Chapter 3

It was a fantastic feeling. Sensation, power running through her veins. The kind of energy she thought she could never have enough. The more she had, the more she wanted to have. And she liked it. She liked it so much!

This was new, and amazing, and she wondered how she could possibly live without this feeling before. It was so fabulous, so wonderful… it made her head spin like a glass of red wine, only it was a thousand times better, and unlike alcohol – it never waved out. It only grew stronger with each day.

She felt so good. She felt like the whole world belonged to her and her alone. She felt like she could have it all at her feet – always.

And the fear… oh, she liked the fear. The power of it, the energy that was coming from it. She could almost absorb it. And that was why she liked to cause it.

The memory made her eyes narrow and her hands ball into fists. A hot wave of anger and hatred that she never thought one could feel swept over her blinding her for a moment, deafening her. She was going to make them regret what they did. They were going to pay. But it wouldn't be easy. No, they would have to go through what she'd gone through first, and then she'd think whether to make it slow and easy or long and painful.

But… she'd have to feed first.


"Jenna?"

The voice gave Jenna a start and she snapped her head up to see Elena standing in the doorway to the dining room in black tank top and pajama pants blinking sleepily at her.

"What are you doing up so late? It's nearly two in the morning."

Good question!

"The draft of my thesis is due on Tuesday morning," Jenna explained. "And this," nodded towards several sentences written on a piece of paper lying before her, "is pretty much all I have so far." She ran her fingers through her hair. "And it doesn't make much sense even to me."

Elena approached the table and leaned against the back of one of the chairs.

"You should go and have some rest," she said, her voice slightly hoarse from sleep. "It's not like it's going to make more sense if you keep sitting here."

"Yeah," Jenna rubbed tiredly at her eyes. "You're probably right."

"I am," Elena smiled heading out. "Go to bed. I'm sure you'll be full of bright ideas in the morning."

"Sounds good. Elena," she called after the girl twiddling the pen in her hands.

Elena stopped and turned. "Mm?"

"Can I tell you something?"

"Sure," she shrugged.

"We never talked about it." Because it's not exactly the things you feel comfortable talking about, she added mentally. "I don't like this whole vampire thing, and I don't approve of you dating Stefan and mess with all of that."

"Jenna…" Elena started in exhausted voice.

"No, wait. Let me finish. Please." She waited for any objection and then went on when heard none. "I do not approve of any of that," she repeated. "But I am not going to tell you what to do and I am not going to give you any advices. First of all because this stupid 50-50-90 rule have a tendency to work all the time."

"What rule?" Elena watched her with confusion.

"Anytime you have a 50-50 chance of doing something right, there's a 90% probability you'll do it wrong," Jenna quoted. "Well, closer to the point." She looked Elena in the eye. "I want it to be your decision and you should make it for yourself. I want you to know that you know what you're doing, and whether you will regret it or not, and I hope that whatever you choose you will never regret it, it should be all yours. I am sorry, I am not your mom. I don't know the right words and what's good or bad for you. But I also want you to know this – whatever you choose and whatever it will lead to, I will always be on your side."

For a moment Elena just started at her, clearly not quite understanding what it was all about.

"Thanks," she said in the end still watching Jenna warily, if a little suspiciously. "That's… nice. And now seriously, Jenna, what's wrong?"

"What? Everything's…"

"It's way past midnight," Elena came back, pulled out the chair next to Jenna's and lowered herself heavily onto it. "I am not even sure I'm awake, so please, let's skip the 'Everything's fine' part and move right to what's going on."

Jenna dropped her eyes to the table and shook her head. "It's nothing. Really. You're right, I should have gone to bed hours ago instead of…" she trailed off.

Elena ignored her. "Is it Alaric... I mean, Mr. Saltzman?" The reminding of him made Jenna chuckle bitterly. "A-a-and, I guess I can take it as yes. Obviously, there should've been a reason for you to bury yourself in the books. What happened?"

"I wish I knew." Finally, she looked up at Elena's face. "How do you know what's right or wrong, Elena? No, really, how? Every time I try to do something right, it works the other way around. I had pretty much failed with you and Jeremy."

"No, Jenna, it's not true-"

Jenna didn't seem to hear her though. "And just when I thought something was working out properly at last…" she cut off. "I've made this mistake with Logan. Twice. And the result was always the same. And now…"

"Is that about… Isobel?" Elena asked cautiously. For some reason they kept avoiding talking about her. Much. Yet, it seemed to be an inevitable question now. And it didn't go past Jenna that she referred to Isobel by the name.

Jenna chewed on her lower lip before answering. "She was the love of his life, you know. I cannot fight against that. Okay, screw Logan. It's different now, what I'm saying is that… is that I'm not sure I can make through all of this again. I just… can't." And added, more to herself than to Elena, "And if feels weird talking to you about it."

"Tell me that," Elena's lips quirked into a small humorless smile.

"Oh, God, I'm sorry, Elena. I am so sorry for pouring all of that our on you at…" she paused to look at her watch, "01.55 in the morning. You have enough to deal with without my whining."

"Stop it, okay?" Elena reached out and covered Jenna's hand with her palm. "Look, I am in position to give any advices either. Somewhere out there is a vampire who looks like a reflection in my mirror and I dread to even imagine what she is capable of, but… Honestly, I don't think that it should be about fighting. It's more about… trust. Which, I know, sounds lame." Elena sighed. "But it's all I can offer when my brain doesn't really work."

"Right," Jenna arranged her stuff on the table in a neat pile and put the pen on top of it. "Come on, let's go. You've got school first thing in the morning, and me… I'm going to hit the library and drown myself in the nightmare of paperwork." She got up and pulled Elena after her.

"Jenna?" she wrapped her arm around her aunt's shoulders. "I know it's not the best idea to take seriously the words of someone who has a vampire for a boyfriend, but… give yourself more credit."

"Oh, please shut up and don't keep my hopes up. It's you who'll have to deal with a broken-hearted me if you're wrong."

"We've got a fridge stuffed with a good old Rocky-Road. I'm in."


It was a crow. An ordinary crow, if only a little too big for a bird, with the wings that were so deep black that they seemed to be almost bluish. And it was watching Jenna with its oily black eyes glinting in the moonlight. The intelligence and curiosity in them was fascinating and unnerving, and for some reason the realization made Jenna's blood run cold. She found herself almost unable to look away as if there was something hypnotizing about the way the bird kept turning its head from side to side. They were so deep and so black, like two pools of black paint… She could even see her own reflection in them.

And then the bird cocked its head as if wanting to have a better angle of view and opened its beak in soundless croak. And everything began to turn red around them brining bloody shades to the entire world.

Fear settled and started to grow inside of her but Jenna couldn't move and couldn't scream. All she could do was watch the bird as it spread its wings, took off the marble gravestone, made a small circle above her head and then peaked down, its razor-sharp claws aiming for her throat…

Jenna woke up with the start gasping for breath.

It was a dream. It was just a dream, she realized, and God, had she ever been more relieved?

She fell back onto the pillows and raked her fingers through her hair, taking deep slow breaths in an attempt to calm down her crazy heartbeat. It felt so real, so vivid. As if she'd actually been in that graveyard with the blood-red moon hanging in the pitch-black sky above them. A bit too vivid for comfort.

Sleepily, she rubbed at her eyes and rolled over, her gaze stopping at the alarm clock on the nightstand. It was a little past 4 in the morning and she groaned in frustration burying her face into the pillow for a moment. The stupid bird still remained before her mind's eyes as some cruel taunt. There was no way for her to fall asleep again any time soon.

It was a gust of chilly wind that made her lift her head up again. She had left the window open before going to bed and now the air in the room was just a little above freezing level.

On a sigh Jenna groped for the reading lamp switch and squeezed her eyes shut when the light blinded her for a moment. She tossed her blankets away then and shivered a little when her bare feet touched the cold floor. The house was silent. She paused for a moment to pick up her cell phone from the dresser. No new messages. Jenna tried to pretend she didn't care. It was easier to lie to someone else than to herself though. She had to let go, but she didn't know how.

She stopped by the window peering into the blackness outside, listening. Everything was still and silent.

It was only then that she noticed a small square of paper lying on the windowsill. A small beige postcard, the bouquet type, with a delicate grapevine ornament on the front side.

Jenna frowned and picked it up, puzzled. She opened it and read two words written in red ink: "Sweet dreams". Sweet dreams? If this could possibly get any creepier, she couldn't imagine how. What the hell was this thing and how did it get here?

She looked out the window once again, somewhat alarmed now, as if expecting to see something – someone – outside, but everything remained as empty and quiet as a minute ago. All she could hear was her own heartbeat and the rustle of dry leaves scattering along the pavement. But there was something else out there, too. She could feel it with her skin. Some uneasiness. Something… scary. One of the secrets of the dark that everyone feared on primitive level.

And then all of a sudden she saw it. A blur of a movement out of the corner of her eye, smooth and soundless. She looked up and saw the crow landing on the tree right outside her window. The branch swayed a little under the bird's weight. It folded its wings, adjusted its position – and stared at Jenna as if waiting for something.

Jenna froze in her spot staring back at the crow, feeling the chill run down her spine. It was like in that stupid nightmare of hers, only a million times worse because this time it was real.

I'm going crazy.

She closed the window in one harried jerky movement, scared that if she didn't do it fast enough, the bird might as well try to get inside and… what? Try to kill her? Jesus, she was going crazy.

Still breathing hard, she shut the curtains making sure she left no gaps and then backed off to her bed not quite up to turning her back to the window. Cell phone clutched in her hand, she lowered herself onto the edge, not so stable on her shaking legs, somewhat expecting to hear the sound of the breaking glass any moment, almost sure the crow would try to get in.

Jenna didn't know how much time had passed till she let out the breath she didn't even realized she was holding and finally let herself relax a little. Everything was still. She couldn't even hear the wind now that the window was closed. And it didn't look like there was something wanting to get her. She let out a small nervous chuckle. God, it was just a dream, and there, outside the house, was just a bird, and the whole situation was just a coincidence and not some weird horror movie. She wouldn't have paid any attention to the crow at all if it wasn't for a dream, Jenna realized. And the dream was just a dream and nothing else. It was hardly possible for something to crawl out of it and attack her.

She got up, relived that there was a simple and logical explanation of her jumpiness. Debated going and checking if the crow was still outside, but then decided not to. For some reason this whole Hitchcock situation made her feel uncomfortable as if there was something else to it but she just couldn't see it. And the best thing she could probably do was go back to bed and try to get some sleep, she decided.

It was only then that she realized that she was still holding the postcard in her hand, its edge angling painfully into her palm.

Jenna opened it again and re-read the words several times. They still didn't make any sense. She examined it closely then, but found nothing of interest. It didn't have any explanation of how it got into her room written on it.

In the end, she climbed under her covers again, still turning the piece of paper in her fingers not quite sure why it bothered her so much. But then again, her whole life wasn't making much sense, so why some smaller things would?

Jenna sighed and put the postcard and her cell phone onto the nightstand. He fears were irrational and she knew it. She was too tired and too sleepy to think straight at this time anyway. She paused for a moment fighting a wish to make a phone-call that she knew would make her feel much better, but then just reached out and switched off the light. And maybe it was just her imagination, but when she threw another anxious look at the window, she was almost sure she could still see the silhouette of the crow sitting on the tree, its form a black spot against her curtains.


Uncle John was the first person Elena saw when she came downstairs in the morning. He was sitting at the table with an empty plate before him and sipping something from his cup, morning news-paper in his hand. Unfortunately, she saw him too late. She skidded to a halt all the same and tried to tiptoe back upstairs as soundlessly as possible. It would have been too easy though.

"Good morning, Elena," he greeted her without actually looking her way.

She stifled a sigh and braced herself for the inevitable walking into the kitchen.

"Morning, Uncle John."

It was hard to sound exciting at this early hour and in his presence but she hoped she had at least pulled off being polite. Getting into a fight of any sort with this man was the last thing on her wish-list now.

She made her way actors the kitchen and straight to the cupboard. Fetched a cup and reached for the coffee pot feeling John's gaze on her back all the way through and trying to ignore it, wondering what could he possibly have on his mind. It always surprised her how good his relationship with her father was since he practically drove the rest of the family mad.

Elena filled the mug inhaling the fresh bitter smell.

"Oh, God, coffee," Jenna appeared behind her back and got a cup for herself, filled it and leaned against the counter, her eyes sleepy. "Mmm," she all but moaned at the first sip.

"Why is everyone in this family addicted to coffee?" John wondered half-amused, half-mock worried.

"And this is your business why, exactly?" Jenna asked him darkly.

"What?" He exclaimed defensively. "I care."

"Yeah, right."

They all turned when Jeremy stomped down the staircase. He paused and looked at all of them staring back at him in turns, shook his head and headed for the door.

"Hey, Jer," Elena hurried after him into the hallway. "You need a ride?"

"Don't bother," he threw over the shoulder not looking at her and slammed the door behind him.

Jenna poked her head out of the kitchen, confused.

"What's wrong with the two of you?" John asked leaning back in his chair so that he could see the hallway.

"Nothing," Elena shook her head.

"If you need to talk-" he started and gave her a confident look.

Elena turned to Jenna helplessly not sure she was capable of dealing with him on her own.

"Just stay out of it," Jenna told John coolly and put her mug onto the counter. She turned to Elena then. "You need a ride?"

"Yes, thanks."

Relieved, she grabbed her bag and followed Jenna out of the house and into the chilly morning air blinking in the early sun.

"So much for the early start," Jenna mumbled as she got inside the car, threw her back into the backseat and buckled the seatbelt waiting for Elena to follow. "Okay, now tell me, what's wrong with you and Jeremy?" She asked as she pulled into the street.

"Nothing," it sounded unconvincing even to her own ears, and Elena cringed inwardly. "Usual brother and sister stuff. We fight all the time."

"You never fight," Jenna pointed out. "That's why I'm worried."

"It's okay, Jenna. We'll… work it out." She paused. "How long is Uncle John going to stay anyway?"

"I don't know. I stopped asking because apparently the more I ask, the more determined he is to stay," Jenna made a face. "The question is – would the reversed psychology work?" Elena hemmed to it, "Did he ever mention anything to you?"

"Not a word."

On top of everything else, Uncle John and his questionable connections both to the council and the vampires was exactly what she needed to believe that the world was falling apart around her. And with the Founder's Parade looming before her, all she really wanted was to get him out of her mind. She was tired of always being on alert with everyone scared to say or do the things she wasn't supposed to. It was exhausting, not to mention – irritating.

Jenna pulled up right in front of the entrance.

"Here you go," she turned to Elena. "I'll try to be back before dinner."

"Okay," Elena reached for the door handle, but the paused. "Aren't you going to come in for a visit? Mr. Saltzman is already here."

Tempting. Jenna tapped her fingers on the steering wheel, her eyes locked on the history class windows. One of the shadows moving behind them could be Ric. Her stomach twisted at the memory of the last time she came near that class. They hadn't talked ever since and... Truth be told, she didn't quite know what to say would they meet any time soon, if there was anything at all. Tempting or not, but she didn't want to be a stalker.

"Mmm, no." She shook her head on a small rueful smile. "I don't think it's a good idea. Guess, I better skip." Made an effort to keep her expression bright but failed miserably.

"You're being childish," Elena pointed out with reprimand.

Jenna considered her words and nodded with mock-serious expression. "And immature, too. And don't forget narrow-minded. But I had to be a grown-up a lot lately, so take it as a safe escape."

Elena chuckled softly and pushed the door open.

"Stay out of trouble," Jenna called out after her.

Elena hopped out of the car. "Yeah, you too."


Damon walked into the history class some time after all the classes were over and the school was practically empty, with the exception of the cheerleaders who occupied the gym and several people who got stuck in the library.

"Have you heard it?" He said skipping the greeting.

"Heard what?" Alaric turned away from the bookshelf and took in the vampire's pissed-off face.

"Third body. They found the third body this morning." No, he wasn't just pissed off. He was annoyed like hell, and pretty angry, too. "Some guy who liked to jog before dawn." Damon cursed under his breath. "Apparently, he should have been faster."

Alaric froze frowning. "Are you sure?"

"Yeah, Liz… Sheriff Forbes called me this morning." Damon sounded disgusted. "We're, like, best friends when it comes to dealing with the bodies, which is not exactly my idea of fun, believe me."

"What do they think about it?"

"What do you think they think about it? They're horrified and a step away from pure panic." He ran his fingers through his hair. "We're not that far from having the Council setting the houses on fire if only to make sure the vampires are not hiding in any of them. And I wish I knew a little bit more than they at this point." He grimaced. "Speaking of… Have you talked to Isobel? Is she still here?"

The reminder of her made Ric's chest tighten. "Yeah."

"And?"

"It's not her." Ric put the book he was holding back on the shelf.

"Because she said so?" Damon specified.

"Yes."

"And you believed her?"

"What did you expect me to do?" Alaric faced him again. "Interrogate her? Tie her to the chair and inject her with vervain and only then start asking questions?"

"Now, that sounds nice!" Damon's lips curved into a dreamy grin.

Alaric let the comment slip. "She said she didn't do it. It's not like we can prove it wrong."

"Well, there's that interrogation thing you offered…" Ric scolded him. "Just saying!" Damon put his hands up. "Geez, what's wrong with you?"

"There's some homicidal creature on the loose that can be a threat to every single person in this town. Should I really answer your question?"

"No, Ric, seriously. You are… I don't know, edgy." Damon gave him an appreciative once-over. "As if you've got a stake in your sleeve. And if you actually do… Come on, what is it? And don't tell me that it's your school stuff… because I wouldn't believe it even if it was true."

"Nothing."

"Sure. And this is exactly why you look like you don't belong on this planet."

"Now we have to think about how we can track this thing down," he changed the subject. "Bad thing that you guys can't sense each other."

"Tell me about it," Damon breathed out and pinched the bridge of his nose. "Any bright ideas? I am kind of tired of roaming in the darkness."

"Did you tell Stefan?"

"Sort of," Damon shrugged. "I told him to keep his eyes open. Hopefully, he will."

"To keep his eyes open for what?"

"I don't know, anything odd. I guess it's a good thing that he can get somewhat paranoid when it comes to Elena's safety. I secretly hope that one day his broodiness will come handy, too. He's got too much of it anyway. But… back to the topic. If it is a vampire we're talking about, then we have nothing to worry about at least until sundown."

"And yet we're still at square one."

"Yeah, and since we don't have much to discuss yet, you can tell me what's wrong with you."

Ric didn't reply at once. Instead, he rubbed at his forehead and walked back to his desk. Looking at the piles of books and stationery made everything look familiar and comfortable, except that he knew it was just an illusion of comfort. Damon was right, he was edgy and a bit out of place ever since last night. And all these killing weren't exactly helping the matters.

"It's Isobel." He heaved an exhausted sigh fully aware that his voice was probably a little too helpless than he preferred it to be. "She… said one thing to me, and I can't get it out of mind." It felt a little weird talking to Damon about it – if only because being mocked about it wasn't what he needed in this life, but the truth was, he was close to believing that if he hadn't gotten over it soon, his brain was going to explode.

"Yeah, she can do that," Damon agreed. "Oh, sorry. What was it?"

"She asked me what would I do if she offered me to join her. Back then, two years ago." His voice was flat and dull as if his thoughts were somewhere else. "And the truth is, I didn't know what to say."

Damon took his time to consider his words. His lips quirked into a humorless smirk then.

"The truth is, you wouldn't."

"I wouldn't – what?"

"You wouldn't do it, Ric." Damon peered at him, his gaze serious and intense. "If Isobel offered it to you, you wouldn't agree."

"You can't know that."

"But I do." He shrugged. "You're not the type."

"I'm not the… type?" Alaric's brows furrowed. "Like, I don't have the guts?"

"No, it's not about being brave, or something else ridiculous. And I can't believe we are actually having this conversation," he added under his breath.

"Well, you started it. Now tell me what you mean," Ric demanded.

"Forget it," Damon waved his hand.

"No, seriously, Damon, tell me."

Damon heaved a frustrated sigh. "Oh, okay, whatever. Just remember that you asked for it." He made a face at Ric. "See, there's a certain type of people who would agree to become vampires on their free will. I'm not talking about compulsion, or other tricks, or accidents. I'm talking about those who make this decision willingly. About those who understand the consequences and the price." He sounded somewhat distant now, too. "These people… they are," he paused fighting for the right words, "incomplete in some way. Restless. There's something missing in them, and they search for what would fill this hole. People that…" he puckered his lips. "People that have nothing to lose."

"But… Isobel did have what to lose."

"That's what you think," Damon pointed out. "I believe she had already proved she had another opinion on that. If it wasn't that, then it'd be something else. Anything. Maybe collecting bus tickets or sky-diving. I don't know. And you're," he gave Ric a long studying once-over, "You're different. If she offered you to become a vampire, you wouldn't agree. Instead, you would try to talk her out of it. You'd try to reason with her, or something. But it would never work, and you know why? Because she's the one and you're not. It's not in you."

"How do you know that?"

Damon rolled his eyes. "Because I do. You and Stefan… you're very much alike." He caught Ric's puzzled look. "Yeah, he's not the type either. Believe me, he's not… and I don't think he would ever do it if the things didn't happen the way they did." And added, more to himself that to Ric, "Sometimes feelings are not enough. There should be something else… So please, stop killing yourself over it, it's depressing."

Clearly, he was feeling uncomfortable and extremely annoyed. Because of the Isobel talk or not, Ric didn't know. And truth be told, he wasn't really up to keeping up the discussion. Damon's words only made everything look even more complicated now. Yeah, as if he didn't have enough on his mind to keep his head spinning.

"Let me tell you one thing," Damon said all of a sudden jerking Ric out of his thoughts. His eyes were sharp and his voice was firm and determined. "She left you because of some ephemeral dream of the world she had no idea about. Did she even know what she was going to do with it? I doubt that. She didn't bother to even tell you it in the face. All this time she hardly cared about what you were feeling, thinking that she was dead. All the suffering you'd been going through… Or whatever chick-flick moments you had. She didn't give a damn. And then she comes back and tells you in that charming manner of hers that she would go and start killing people if you don't do what she wants." He hemmed here. "She was and is a selfish cold-hearted bitch. No pressure, just stating the obvious. Can we move on to other things now?"

Alaric watched his face for a long moment. All the things that Damon said – about how Isobel left and her attitude, he had thought of them so many times still trying to convince himself that it wasn't true. Hearing them from someone else was strange. It felt a little like violation of his personal space, as if Damon came up and looked right into his mind without permission to do so. His words were cutting Ric like a cold knife – cruel and merciless. But on the other hand it also made his speculations more real and solid, with the only exception that he wasn't sure that he wanted to hear it as it meant that all his illusions were shattering to pieces all over again. Not that he had much of them left but still…

The silence was broken by a loud laughter right outside the window, and it snapped Ric back to the sunlit classroom and the Founder's Day parade costumes and the clock ticking on the wall above the chalkboard.

He did not comment on Damon's words. And what could he possibly say? Agreeing felt stupid. Objecting would make him look like a fool because against all odds, he knew that the vampire was right, and the fact that he wasn't quite up to accepting it was his problem, not Damon's.

"There is one more thing," he said slowly, as of looking for the right words, not really sure that he wanted to bring it up at all but feeling that he probably should.

"What?"

"Isobel… She wants you to stay away from Elena."

Damon's brows lifted up almost to his hairline. "Well, I wouldn't mind her staying away form Elena either, assuming her motherly feelings are rather questionable whereas her homicidal side… you know," he scoffed.

Ric regarded him thoughtfully. "She's got point."

"What?"

"What's going on between the two of you?"

"Me and Isobel?" Damon blinked.

"You and Elena."

"Um… she's my brother's girlfriend. Why would you ask that anyway?"

Alaric shook his head. "If you want to keep it a secret, you have work on your poker-face, Damon."

"It's nothing," Damon pressed on with frustration, and added quietly looking away, "that she or my dear brother should know about."

"Just saying," Ric shrugged. "But back to our problem… Is there anything we can do?" He asked leaving the previous conversation behind. Not that either of them had much to say anyway. "Beside waiting and counting the bodies, I mean."

Damon winced at his wording. "Well, it's you who is the brains here. I'm just a killing machine." And then, "One thing I know for sure though – we better keep the Council off the track for a while. At least until we figure out who stands behind this crap. I hate to see Elena's dear uncle sneaking around leading his double game."

Alaric nodded, uncertain. There was something about this situation…

"Just tell me at what point it'll be our choice to go and burn down the whole town?"

"Here you go again," Damon rolled his eyes. "Drop this pessimism! Maybe staking occasional townies would be enough!" He winked at Ric and headed for the door.

"Damon," Alaric stopped him. "Are you sure it's not one of the tomb vampires?"

"No," Damon looked at him over the shoulder. "But like I said, we have nothing to worry about until sundown."


"I know I'm running late, Elena. Sorry." Jenna walked out of the glass doors of the University library with the phone squeezed between her ear and her shoulder… and was all but swept off of her feet by the severe gusts of chilly wind. It smelled like rain. "It took longer than I thought. I'm on my way, so… You two okay?" Waited for Elena to answer. "Good, I'll be home soon."

Involuntarily, she shivered and zipped her jacket up to her very chin. The wind kept throwing her hair into her face as she made her way across the parking lot and towards her car carefully holding her books and notes with the free hand lest they be torn out of her grip.

Despite her best intentions, she finished a couple of hours later than she intended, totally lost in her work, and was practically the last one to leave the library, with the exception of a geeky-looking guy in funny glasses whose head was barely visible behind huge piles of books that mounted all around him on the desk. Honestly, it was way beyond Jenna how the poor thing didn't crash under all that weight yet. All she could do was shake her head at the sight. It was… admirable.

At last, she reached her car. The alarm clinked softly and she climbed inside heaving a sigh of relief when she finally slammed the door shut and cut herself off of the madness outside.

Jenna turned the key in the ignition starting the engine. Arranged her stuff on the passenger's seat, buckled her seatbelt and then leaned back giving the engine some time to warm up and taking her chance to study the old library building with its huge floor-to-ceiling windows through which she could see rows of the floor-to-ceiling bookshelves and the dome above all this magnificent beauty, all highlighted by the streetlamps and two security projectors. The campus was mostly empty, both due to the late time and the weather conditions that did not imply pleasant walks whatsoever.

She rubbed at her eyes stifling a yawn. It was a long day and she was exhausted. And truth be told, all she could think of was a long hot bath that had more chances to bring her back to life than anything else in the entire world. That, and a similarly long sleep maybe. Yeah, that would be nice!

The thought was inspiring.

Jenna straightened in her seat shaking off the sleepiness and turned on the headlights, adjusted the rearview mirror and pushed away the thought of Alaric staying off the radar lately. If that was what he wanted, then fine. She was not going to feel too bad about it, or at least she would stop feeling bad about it. Some time in the future. Hopefully.

She sighed. Yeah, she was getting pathetic and she knew it. And she hated not being able to do anything about it.

Yeah, go on, feel sorry for yourself, Jenna thought grimly cringing inwardly.

Absently, she reached out and turned on the radio but all she heard was the static noise. Frowning, she checked other stations but the result was the same. She turned it off. Probably the wind damaged something, she decided. Not that it was a big deal. She was about one hour away from Mystic Falls. Not that far at all, even though the idea of making all this way back in complete silence was a little depressing, what with all the thoughts she'd prefer to keep out of her mind at least for a little while.

Jenna drove out of the parking lot and into the road only pausing at the exit when she thought she saw… No, couldn't be. Her heart skipped a beat. Could it really be a crow sitting on top of the streetlamp?

She slowed down a little staring intensely into the rearview mirror but saw nothing. The XIX-century-styled lantern was empty – of course! – and for some reason it looked oddly lonely. It was just a trick of light, she thought in the end. No living creature would be able to sit there without being swept off by the wind. It was light and the trees that shook violently throwing angular shades at everything around.

Simple as that, she told herself fighting a wish to step on gas and speed out of there. There was no logical reason for her to be so jumpy but the uneasiness that grew inside of her didn't leave.

The highway was empty for the most part, except for rare on-coming vehicles and Jenna relaxed eventually. She even started to hum some tune under her breath tapping her fingers on the steering wheel. The storm kept growing stronger, she saw a lightning or two piercing low purple sky at the horizon but inside the car she was warm and comfortable. She checked the radio again a couple of times but it was still off, which didn't really matter since she had already made a greater part of her journey.

The more surprised she was when the headlights of the car that appeared behind hers out of nowhere hit the rearview mirror and blinded her for a moment.

She straightened up in her seat and grabbed the steering wheel with both her hands, anxious. Where did this thing come from? The road was totally empty just a few minutes ago.

Taking slow deep breaths to calm down her crazy heartbeat, Jenna slowed down hoping the car would just speed up and leave her behind. But it didn't. Instead, it slowed down too, keeping the same distance between them as before so that the light of its headlights remained on Jenna's rearview mirror.

"Damn," she muttered through clenched teeth. Like some psycho who decided to play a sick game with her was exactly what she needed most right now!

She still was about half an hour away from Mystic Falls and being blinded like that, she couldn't see the road at all risking to drive into the nearest ditch, would she notice it too late.

"Come on," she breathed out hurrying whoever drove the car behind her, more annoyed than worried yet. The highway remained empty and nothing kept the driver from speeding up and circling her car around. There was no reasonable need to follow her like that.

It seemed to last forever. Jenna's eyes started to hurt and her concentration began to slip away. The highway narrowed and became more winding as it went between low slanting hills. Her fingers flexed on the steering wheel and it was only then that she noticed that the streetlamps along the highway were out, too, which was strange and more than a little unnerving. It meant she could only rely on the headlights to navigate her way but now she couldn't see anything at all. And this was probably right about time to start panicking.

"Okay, let's do it your way," she murmured then and stepped on the gas ignoring her hands that's started to shake, both from the tension and the fear. It was almost suicidal now that the road started to curve to the right and to the left but he needed to do something to start seeing, and loosing her follower behind one of the curves was all she could think out when she couldn't quite think straight at all. She had no choice but to take that risk.

The arrow on the speedometer crawled slowly to the right nearing the mark of 60 ml/hr. Her car all but jumped when one of the front wheels ran over the pot-hole in the asphalt and Jenna clutched the steering wheel so tight that her knuckles turned white, her heart plummeting down to the pit of her stomach.

"Oh god," she whispered horrified when the front passenger-side wheel grazed against the roadside gravel as the car swerved a little. She was too late to notice the bend.

Jenna did manage to get back to the highway being oh-so-close to having a heart attack. But the worst thing was that the trick didn't work – the following car increased it speed keeping the distance between the two of them unchanged.

"Crap," Jenna's arms and back started to ache from the tension and a cold hand of fear clutched her insides, her mind racing from misunderstanding to panic to utter, consuming horror. It didn't look like a stupid joke or a mere coincidence anymore.

The idea of throwing the car to the shoulder of the road was tempting, if only to see what would happen in that case – would the other car stop, too? Would it pass by? Who the hell was driving it anyway? – but something didn't let her actually do it. A feeling of danger that she couldn't explain and that had nothing to do with the fact that there could be someone crazy following her. It was a need to escape that formed and grew in her until she couldn't think of anything else but an overwhelming desire to run away.

Jenna all but jumped in her seat, nearly losing control of the car when her phone started to ring. She threw a quick half-hopeful, half-helpless glance at the passenger's seat. There was no way to get it out of her bag without letting go of the steering wheel, and there was no was she could do that, too. Not on the road like this. The ringing stopped for a moment and then started again a few seconds later.

Oh, God, help me…

Eyes darting between her bag and the wind-shield, Jenna took a few deep breaths. Locked her eyes on those ten feet of the road that she could see – barely – and carefully reached blindly for her bag. If only she could get the phone… if only she could…

But just when her fingers brushed against the soft leather, the car behind her started to close in, shifting to the left, its engine roaring louder now.

Jenna could hardly believe it was finally happening. It looked like whoever was after her had finally made up his mind to leave her alone. She let the car slow down again expecting the other one to pass by… but right when her phone started the third go-around, the big black crossover – that was as much as she managed to glimpse – did what she expected least of all. It swerved her way closing the distance between them with terrifying speed and unmistakable intentions.

Caught by surprise, Jenna twisted the steering wheel instinctively, hesitating for the barest of moments, not sure if she should speed up or keep slowing down. But that was exactly when the road made a sharp turn to the left and Jenna realized what was happened when it was too late.

Her SUV drove off the highway. She hit the brakes but the speed was too high. The wheels slid along the wet grass as the car started to turn sideways. She couldn't understand where she was or where she was going, the vision she so craved for for the last ten minutes only made the things a lot more scary.

Everything was happening like in a slow motion replay. Her seize on the steering wheel was dead-tight but she was hardly in any control of the car that kept moving forward into the darkness. It was horrifying and yet fascinating to see everything around so clearly that she could practically make out every single leaf on the bushes that were flying past her. At some point it even started to seem that the car itself remained perfectly still and motionless whereas everything else kept jumping at it. And all she could do was just watch it happening and wait.

Finally, the car began to slow down. Relieved, Jenna let out a breath she didn't even notice she was holding for God knows how long. Could this really be the end of this nightmare?

But then… she didn't see it. The tree that seemed to appear out of nowhere, and when she saw it at lest, there was no way for her to stop in time, the speed was still too high and the slope was too slick. Paralyzed, Jenna watched it approach, its branched hanging low and barely above the car's roof. She heard the sound then that was exactly like the one that empty tin can made when being squeezed in the hands, only a million times louder. It seemed to fill everything around her. God, it seemed to fill her entire head….

And then everything turned black.

To be continued…


Thanks for reading! Reviews and comments are always apprecited :)